UN Member States will gather virtually this February 22-23 for the Fifth Session of the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-5). This is the world’s top environmental decision-making body attended by government leaders, businesses, civil society and environmental activists.
It’s a critical meeting: the planet is in crisis and nature must be at the heart of global efforts to build back better after the COVID-19 pandemic. There will be a host of related events happening over the coming days.
This feed will tell you everything you need to know about UNEA-5 with links to live sessions, new reports and critical debates as they happen. Stay tuned!
UN Environment Assembly to meet online on Feb 22-23
By IANS |
Published on
Fri, Feb 5 2021 22:06 IST |
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UN Environment Assembly to meet online on Feb.. Image Source: IANS News
Nairobi, Feb 5 : The fifth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly will take place online for the first time on February 22 and 23, it was announced on Friday.
It is the highest-level meeting on the state of the environment since the UN Secretary General stated in December that making peace with nature would be the defining task of the 21st century.
The UN Environment Assembly meets biennially to set priorities for global environmental policies and develop international environmental law. Decisions and resolutions then taken by member states at the assembly define the programme of work of the UN Environment Programme.
IIED and the 2021 ‘super year’
2021 is a crucial year for dealing with the climate emergency, unprecedented biodiversity loss, rising inequalities and the COVID-19 pandemic. This page sets out how IIED will work with partners throughout the year at key opportunities to highlight and address these interconnected crises.
The world is dealing with multiple crises – the climate crisis, unprecedented biodiversity loss, rising inequalities and the COVID-19 pandemic.
These challenges disproportionately impact vulnerable countries, groups and individuals by exacerbating pre-existing dynamics of marginalisation and exclusion.
Strong and urgent action is needed to address these interconnected crises, including to leverage pandemic recovery packages, to drive cohesive climate, nature and development outcomes.
Date Time
Latin American, Caribbean ministers commit to build back better and greener
Bridgetown Barbados, February 2, 2021 – The Ministers of the Environment of Latin America and the Caribbean today signed the Barbados Declaration, in which they called for the integration of environmental issues to be placed at the heart of the region’s COVID-19 recovery strategies, with economic reactivation based on social inclusion, low carbon and resilient economies, and the conservation and sustainable use of natural resources.
The ministers, at the XXII Meeting of the Forum of Ministers of Environment of Latin America and the Caribbean organized by the UN Environment Porgramme (UNEP) and the Government of Barbados, agreed on a set of concrete decisions, including the establishment of a regional Action Plan to restore ecosystems, a Circular Economy Coalition, an Integrated Environmental Information System, and a second, updated Caribbean Small Island Developing States (SIDS) Programme, w
Ebony Holland is senior researcher in IIED s Natural Resources and Climate Change research groups
The world is dealing with multiple and intertwined crises – climate change, unprecedented biodiversity loss, rising inequalities and the COVID-19 pandemic. The poor and vulnerable are disproportionately affected, and inequalities are deepening. A clear demonstration of this is in the stark difference in COVID-19 vaccination rates between developed and developing countries.
Even with the inequalities exposed by the pandemic, the recovery process provides a unique opportunity. The world is searching for practical solutions to get us through this pandemic and we won’t see this scale of economic stimulus for decades to come. We need to pivot; not resuscitate the economy of December 2019 but reimagine a better economy that places climate, nature and people at the centre.